Commas & Semicolons

Biographical Rough Draft 4Typed5 paragraphsDouble-spacedNo abbreviations, contractions, numerical,

symbols, and so onA red pen

Circle all of the subjects.Grouped subjects count as one.

If there is more than one circle in a sentence, separate the clauses correctly with a comma or semicolon.

If there is more than one circle in a sentence and the clauses are separated with a comma and no conjunction, then label the comma with “cs” for comma splice.

If the sentence is not starting with a circled word(s), then the sentence is starting with an introductory word, phrase, or clause. Place the comma in the appropriate place. Be careful of the author’s useless words.

There is no true way to prepare to check for these mistakes; it takes practice. Review the rough draft again looking for these mistakes.